Royals Don’t Blow It in Wind

The final margin of victory was a little closer than anyone might have imagined and a lot closer than the San Marcos boys’ golf team would have liked, but the result was exactly what everyone expected.

San Marcos, which has taken prep golf to new heights this season with its barrage of mind-boggling scores, shot 10-over-par 370 over a wind-blown La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc on Thursday to win the Southern Section team championship by two shots over Palm Desert.

Murrieta Valley shot 375 and Westlake shot 376 to earn the final two berths in the CIF-SCGA Championships on June 4 at the SCGA Members Club in Murrieta.

The winning score by San Marcos might not seem impressive, given that the Royals had averaged 358.87 in their last eight matches and won the Central Coast Divisional Monday with 354.

But the score is the fifth-best in section championship history and is 17 strokes better than the 387 San Marcos shot to win in 1999, the last time the finals were at La Purisima. Not bad for a team that had an off day in 25-mph winds on a course where only one player broke par Thursday. Santa Margarita’s Taylor Wood shot 68.

“We feel that we are the best team in California and maybe the nation,” San Marcos Coach Aaron Solis said. “But we knew that at this course and in these conditions, that if someone could beat us, this was the day to do it.

“The kids did a phenomenal job of staying focused and not letting that happen.”

It was the kind of performance that had opponents talking about San Marcos’ place in the annals of the Southern Section. This is the 10th section title and the fourth in the last six years for the Royals, who shot a section finals-record 359 to win last year. Still, many feel this year’s team ranks among the best all-time.

“I can’t imagine a high school team ever that was better than them,” said Westlake Coach Dave Costley, whose team won section titles in 1986 and ’87 and CIF-SCGA titles in 1987 and ’96.

San Marcos raised the bar when it broke par in two of its first three matches this season. The Royals went undefeated during the regular season, winning by an average of 23 strokes. They have shot under par in five of their last eight matches, including a 19-under 341 on the second day of the Channel League finals.

“Everything is clicking right now,” said Tyler Ley, one of three San Marcos players to shoot 74 Thursday. “I think right now we could rival any team, anywhere.”

They won’t get much of an argument from Palm Desert, which got 73s from Kyle Forbes and Seann Harrington.

“We’ve had some pretty good teams at Palm Desert, but nothing like the team they have this year,” said Coach Tim Kabeary, whose Aztec teams have won three section titles.

“That is a very, very good team. Them winning is no fluke. Them not playing all that well [Thursday] is a fluke.”

Junior Kevin Larsen, who shot 72 to lead San Marcos, hopes his team can prove Kabeary correct.

“If we play well, I don’t think there are any limits on this team,” Larsen said. “We could shoot insanely under par.”